


Three Days of Rustmas

by AeveeItazura



Category: The Venture Brothers
Genre: Christmas, Cute, M/M, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-01
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-09-13 20:39:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9141364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AeveeItazura/pseuds/AeveeItazura
Summary: A little something something I wrote for tsv for the VBros-Secret Santa Exchange this year.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [tsv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsv/gifts).



**Drink and Be Merry**

  
Swirling his drink, he grimaces at the the failed doctail. He pours it off the side of the balcony, nose crinkled in disgust as he places the glass on a nearby table. And he swore that was going to be a winning combination. Eggnog, cinnamon sugar, cherry cola and bourbon. It failed to deliver, like most of his experiments.

  
He hears the balcony door slide open. Out of the corner of his blue bespectacled eyes he can see the hulking figure of his once again bodyguard. Brock slinks next to him. He pulls out a cigarette from his shirt pocket, lighting it with a click of a well hidden lighter. He pulls a long, well deserved drag from it.

  
Rusty’s nose crinkles at the acrid smoke billowing from the cigarette,. He doesn’t say anything. As Brock has learned to ignore Rusty’s less favorable traits, Rusty has learned to turn a blind eye as well. It’s an arrangement that has worked well for them both over the years.

  
For the both of them, it might be the longest relationship either have experienced. In a weird way, it’s something that gives Rusty a measure of comfort. Having somebody he can count on is a rarity. The life of a super scientist is a lonely one he hates to admit.

  
Rusty realizes that Brock was talking while he was musing about his life. He shakes his head clear. He makes a noise that he hopes Brock takes as a questioning tone. His weak attempt earns him a gruff laugh from the as gruff bodyguard. He gestures at the empty glass on the table.

  
“Failed experiment, doc?” he asks.  
“Eh, you know how it is,” Rusty says, trying to brush off the failure. “Took a thousand tries to get the light bulb working.”

  
Brock grunts and Rusty feels his ears redden at how easy Brock saw through him. Rusty twiddles his thumbs, drawing a blank on how to small talk, even with a familiar source. He watches a gold streak fly by, the sound of a whip clear.  
“Seeing your girlfriend tonight?” Rusty drawls, winking.

  
His question earns him an eye roll and an annoyed grumble. Something about schedules not meshing and waning interest. Rusty can’t help the smug feeling at Brock’s response, as grudging as it may be. For better (and worse), he has never failed to hold Brock’s attention.

  
Except for the year, all right two years, when Brock was involved in SPHINX. But he was in Rusty’s backyard for most of it, so that doesn’t count at all. He doesn’t want to think on why it matters so much to him for Brock Samson to be interested in him.

  
“You?” Brock asks, turning the attention back on the hapless scientist.  
“Oh, you know,” Rusty stalls. What the hell is he up to tonight? The boys are busy doing whatever the city has to offer. HELPeR has already powered down for the night, and his only two friends are “busy”. Looking over at the empty glass, he has an idea.  
“Mixing up some new doctails,” Rusty says. “Wanna join?”

  
Rusty cringes at the clear desperation in his invitation. He sounds like a lonely housewife. Or worse, a desperate trailer park diner waitress. He waits for the harsh rejection surely coming his way. A suave man like Brock would never waste his time on a sad sack like him.

  
He hears Brock laugh. But it isn’t mocking, but happy laughter. Rusty damn near jumps out of his skin as Brock slaps his large hand onto his shoulder. He looks up and grins bashfully at the bodyguard’s rare warm grin. He lets Brock lead him into the makeshift bar inside as snow starts to blanket the city.  
  
  
****

**BOUGHS OF FOLLY**

  
Growling as, once again, he has to take care of things himself he yanks on the tangled lights. Standing on top of a rickety ladder that looks as old as this building’s foundation, Rusty sighs. He regrets allowing Hank to date and “do his own thing” as he calls it. It may keep the boy out of what remains of his hair, but it doesn’t explain where Dean is.

  
Where could THAT boy be instead of helping him put up these Christmas decorations. Dean is supposed to be the one more excited by holidays and yet he is nowhere to be found. Dean doesn’t even a girlfriend. Not that he is aware of anyway. He just hangs out in the labs or studies with that Jaren guy. Or was his name Garred?

  
He rolls his eyes, again. He doesn’t have the brain power to keep track of his sons’ friends. He tries to be supportive of his sons, but sometimes he just has to let things go. Unlike Hank and that snow princess movie. He tosses the lights, still tangled to the ground. He will just get new ones later.   Luckily, his hands off parenting has worked out better then those lights. Mostly because of Brock, which he is not ashamed to admit.

  
He knows that without the bodyguard keeping an eye out, he and the boys would be dead or worse. Leaning on the top rung of the ladder, he has to admit that Brock is the only person he has ever been able to rely on. Not even his countless enemies are as reliable as Brock Samson. His own true constant is the looming figure of his bodyguard.

  
  
Speaking of constants, his other constant companion(failure)makes an appearance. The ancient ladder gives way and collapses underneath the super scientist. Hearing the buckling metal, Rusty reaches out and grabs the garland already hung up. The flimsy decoration can’t support the super scientist and cracks apart in his hands.

  
Rusty mentally curses his dead brother for having such high walls. He doesn’t hit the ground. He hears the garland crumple onto the ground. Looking around, he realizes that Brock caught him, saving him from a fall. Again. He realizes that he appears to be…nervously looking upward? Following his gaze, he sees a green bundle of leaves and berries hung over them. How did he miss that?

  
“That’s mistletoe, doc,” Brock states.  
“I can see that,” Rusty barks.

  
Rusty can hear the bleeping of his robot as he heads to the room they are in. Still in Brock’s arms, he can feel time ticking away as the awkwardness grows for them. It dawns on him what that half crushed bundle of greenery means for them. His ears are as red as the berries, he doesn’t need a mirror to know that. What the hell is he going to do now?  
  


 

 

  
**Nutcases Roasting on an Open Fire**  
  
Sighing contently, he takes a well deserved sip from a glass of wine before placing it on the table in front of him. Things are finally going his way, minus a few hiccups along the way. But he’s a Venture after all. It is to be expected that things won’t all be smooth sailing.  
  
He gets jostled by his bodyguard sitting down next to him. Ah. Speaking of which, he still kind of sort of hasn’t dealt with things he should not have put off for as long as he has. He wishes he didn’t already put his glass down so he would have something to do with his hands.

  
Last week’s…mistletoe incident is something that he knows has to be addressed. Running out of the room or making up an excuse each time Brock walks in is not going to work for much longer. For better or worse, this ducking his bodyguard thing is getting stressful and awkward. He clears his throat, getting Brock’s attention.  
  


“So,” Rusty starts off slowly. “Are we going to talk about…it?”

  
Brock grunts, shrugging his shoulders dismissively. Of course he wasn’t going to make this easy. Nothing else in Rusty’s life has been, why would something, I don’t know, IMPORTANT be? He pinches his brow, way too old for this teen drama.

  
“Brock, we kissed,” Rusty starts, again. “We need to at least address it.”  
“What’s there to address, doc?” Brock asks. “We kissed, big deal. Happens all the time.”  
“Ahhh!” Rusty says, shaking a finger. “There was tongue.”  
“Yours, maybe,” Brock mutters.

  
Rusty is rendered speechless, cheeks flaring in embarrassment. He might have forgotten that detail. He leans back into the couch, wanting to sink into it like a lake of quicksand. That went as well as he thought it would.

  
He was hoping it was more than “just” a kiss, but he was wrong. He hates admitting it even to himself, but he had managed to fall in love with ANOTHER bodyguard. Only this time, they weren’t interested as well. They also weren’t crazy, but that doesn’t soften the blow.

  
He sighs, wondering why and how he keeps getting himself into this predicaments. Without fail, he either chickens out when somebody is actually interested. Or when he gets the nerve to act on what he THOUGHT was mutual interest, they aren’t actually interested. He gets tugged from his  spot. He is then nestled under the arm of his burly bodyguard.  
  


Resettling himself, he can’t help but grin stupidly. He knows it’s a stupid grin, and not just because Brock rolled his eyes. Wrapping an arm around, he can’t help but look upward for a bit longer then needed. He can’t help but wink, trying to be coy.

  
“That Venture charm, works every time.” Rusty says. Brock laughs and Rusty continues “Hey, it’s true. How do you think Dean has a boyfriend AND a girlfriend, hmm?”  
“His girlfriend is the daughter of White and Billy,” Brock answers. “And she’s been crazy about him since they met.”

  
“Well,” Rusty huffs. “That Jaren guy he got on his own.”  
“Jared,” Brock corrects. “And isn’t he that guy you were crowing about being in your musical a while back?”  
“Oh shut up,” Rusty says playfully.

  
Brock groans but concedes as HELPeR rolls in, hot chocolate on a platter for the two of them. HELPeR waits for them both to take a mug before wheeling out, chirping “Jingle Bells” as he leaves. He heads into the kitchen to finish last minute preparations for tonight’s gathering. A gathering Rusty feels will be a little extra special.


End file.
